I Don't Mind
by newlegacies
Summary: A quiet Oklahoma night with each other to turn to. ousiders!jasiper au


**an outsiders au. v short and v messy. i don't own the idea or the charcters.**

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He knew Piper McLean was completely off limits. It was common knowledge that if he, Jason Grace, even _poked_ her, he'd get beaten up by the gangs that roamed the streets each night, drinking and smoking and terrorizing every Greaser on the block.

Yet, every feather-light touch, every lingering kiss sent his body on fire, and she alone was the he sneaked out into the sticky, hot Oklahoma air every night. He was infatuated with her irises, which seemed to change color, from a deep brown to a playful green. He couldn't get enough of the way she laughed lowly in the fading light of the relentless sun, and how the streaks of color in the sky turned her pursed lips a shade darker.

It was inevitable; ever since he'd broken up a gang fight revolving around her, (which she was a perfectly capable of ending herself,) he'd was completely head-over-heels for the girl with the long, dark hair and bold and sassy attitude.

And, (to his surprise,) she'd been obsessed right back.

One day, the two of them laying on her father's blue Mustang, she whispered, "Should we tell someone about us?"

He glanced back at her. Her eyes were trained on the gleaming expanse of stars.

He spoke. "They're gonna find out anyways. And then I'll get beat up by your gang."

Piper's eyes flitted to his own, her lips curved upward into a smirk. "And then my dad will find out where his ride went all those nights."

"I told someone though," Jason confessed, his hand searching hers. "Percy."

"Percy Jackson?" Piper smiled. "He's a good kid, at least pretty nice for a greaser."

"You don't mind?"

She shrugged. "I ain't complaining."

He relaxed. "Good."

Her hand found his. They laid some more on the car. He found himself watching her more than the sea of stars above, and honestly, the way her face glowed in the dark, sticky night, reflected by the shimmer of comets, was by far more beautiful than just plain old stars.

He stared at her for a long time. Finally, after twenty-some minutes, she squeezed his hand. "How's it looking back home?"

"Not too terrible."

Piper turned to face him. "Your mom?"

"Drunk as a bat. Been smashing things and screamin' again."

Piper sighed. "And Thalia?"

"Doing pretty well, for one of us Greasers, I guess." Jason snorted. "Hasn't pulled her switchblade yet, so not too terrible."

Piper was silent, but curled up closer with him, her head in the crook of his arm. He felt now as if he were drowning, but whenever Piper held him it was like having a life preserver at all times.

He glanced down at her. Her eyes were closed now, and she breathed slowly and softly.

She finally spoke. "How have you been doing?"

"Not terrible," he answered her with the same line. "Business at the gas station's been okay. Haven't been smoking that much. Haven't had a drop of beer."

"And it best be that way," she replied, opening her eyes, which were stern and concerned at the same time. "You better stop smoking, it's not good for your lungs."

"I'm trying," Jason said tiredly. He didn't bother trying to explain that his mother was high all the time, an alcoholic, and that Thalia was working double-shifts at the drive-in nearby. Stress like that nearly killed Jason everyday; Piper was the last scrap of sanity he had left.

They let another silence hang between them, until Piper said, "Get up, Jase."

He sat up, the old Mustang creaking beneath him. "Huh?"

"C'mon, get down here."

She took his hand and they walked across the clearing together.

"What are you doing?"

Piper stopped abruptly in the middle of the clearing, their hands still tightly clasped together. She turned towards him. "Let's dance."

"Huh?"

Her lips tugged upward in amusement. She said nothing.

"Out here? Where everyone can see us?" Jason stuttered.

"Why not?"

"It seems... dangerous," Jason said, locking eyes with the beautiful girl in front of him.

"I'm a dangerous girl," she replied, a mischievous grin on her lips.

"That, I can believe."

And so they clung to each other, swaying gently, and he could feel her heart beating in sync with his. Police sirens blared in the distance, and mosquitoes buzzed around them, but Jason couldn't think of one place he'd rather be than here, with a gorgeous woman who'd sacrifice everything to be with him as well.

"I love you," he blurted out suddenly.

Piper's eyes glimmered with the light of a thousand stars. "I love you too, Greaser," she murmured.

"Would you have loved me if I were a Soc?" he asked.

She looked amused. "Without any doubt. But I find your clothes much better than those ridiculous Madras and khakis."

"I'm glad." He held her tighter, dreading when he had to let go.


End file.
